IBM sets up Watson-focused unit to tap the AI boom

International Business Machines Corp. has formed a new business unit to capitalize on the recent groundswell in artificial intelligence. The new Cognitive Business Solutions group will be run by Stephen Pratt, previously an executive in the consulting practice at Indian outsourcer Infosys. The new division’s 2,000 employees will advise companies in how to take advantage of IBM’s IBM, +0.30% Watson artificial-intelligence software. IBM Chief Executive Virginia Rometty is expected to announce the group on Tuesday at the Gartner Symposium, a gathering of information technology executives, in Orlando, Fla. Introduced in 2011, Watson excels at analyzing vast quantities of information to uncover relationships that humans might miss. It has assisted oncologists at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, contributed to a recipe book, and bested champions of television’s “Jeopardy” game show. IBM…